Car roof



' March 17, 1936. c, D, BONSALL 2,034,385

CAR ROOF Filed March 3, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l a4 fiNI/EA/TOPI March 17, 1936. c. D. BOQNSALL CAR ROOF Filed March 3, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 17, 1936 i -UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAR- ROOF Charles David Bonsall, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to P. H. Murphy Company, New Kensington, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 3, 1933, Serial No. 659,493 7 claims; (Cl.108--5.4)

This invention relates to car roofs of the kind tight joint but also contributes greatly to the wherein the metal roof sheets are fixed in place. strength of the structure. Heretofore, the common practice has been to fix Another important advantage of the constructhe sheets by riveting, which requires accurately tion illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 is that it dispenses 5 locating and punching the rivet holes and squarwith the need for squaring the sides of the sheets 5 ing the edges of the sheets preliminary thereto and of shearing them to accurate width; for and leaving a lap along the margin beyond the there are no holes, ribs, flanges, or other features line of rivets. In some such roofs, the marginal requiring to be matched, as the metal weld will portions of the sheets were shaped and in posifill whatever space may be left between the edges 'tion to take care of a considerable portion of of the sheets. 10 the stresses in the structure but were likely to' In the construction illustrated in Fig. 4, the act inefficiently due to buckling of their edges. roof sheets 5 extend from side plate to side plate The principal objects of the present invention of the car and have simple upstanding flanges B are to save the metal heretofore required for the along their side margins. Between these uplaps, dispense with the operations of squaring standing flanges is a thick flat strip 1 of metal 5 the sides, locating and punching the rivet holes, which serves as a reinforcement or carline memdispense with accurate matching of sheets, and her. The flanges 6 of adjacent sheets contact otherwise simplify manufacture and assembly, flatwise with the member 1 with the upper edges produce stronger and tighter joints,'and render of the two flanges and the interposed mem- 2 the marginal portions of the sheets fully effective ber substantially flush with one another. The in taking care of stresses. The invention conflanges 6 and the interposed reinforcing member sists principally in arranging the sheets with I are welded together by means of a single weld 8 their edges spaced apart and secured together whose bottom is in contact with the edges of and to a third member by a weld in contact with the two flanges and the reinforcing member.

all three. It also consists in the parts and in Preferably this weld is made by means of an 25 the combinations and arrangements of parts electrical welding rod of high tensile metal and hereinafter described and claim. the weld is built up so as to have a considerable In the accompanying drawings, wherein like cross-sectional area and thereby contribute reference numerals refer to like parts wherever greatly to the strength of the structure.

they occur, In the construction illustrated in Fig. 5, the 30 Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a car roof roof sheets 9 are formed with upstanding anguembodying my invention, lar flanges l0 arranged alongside each other but Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through spaced somewhat apart. Such space is bridged one-half of the roof on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, by a reinforcing member II that contacts flatwise Fig. 3 is avertical longitudinal section through With the underfaces of the flange and the 5 a portion of the roof on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1; two flanges and the reinforcing members are all and united together by a weld l2 which fills the space Figs. 4 to 10, inclusive, are sections similar to between Said flanges and y, if des ed, be bu Fig. 3 showing modified forms of the invention. up of Such cross-Sectional r as y be 40 In t construction inustmted in Figs 1 t 3, sired to contribute to the strength of the struc- 40 canines of inverted U sha,pe extend from side ture. Fig. 6 shows a similar construction whereplate 2 to side plate 2 of the car and are secured in the Weld serves as a securing means for thereto. The roof sheets 3 are plain imperforate an ppe Series Of Sheets 9a as Well as a means sheets that extend entirely across the car with for securing the edges of the upstanding angular their Side margins resting on t 11 1, upper flanges of the lower series of sheets together and 45 face of adjacent carlines. The sheets are art0 the reinforcing be ranged with a space intervening between their ShOWS a joint uniting t g t r V rticaledges. This space is filled with a weld 4 that V disposed flange members Hill and abacking unites the edges of the adjacent sheets together reinforcing b r a S t v r a y e gewiseand also to the top of the Carline, The 1d 4 The construction illustrated in Fig. 8 shows a 50 is preferably made by means of an electric weldsimilar joint embodied in a roof of the so-called ing rod of high tensile metal, such as steel. This neutral axis type, wherein the roof metal is armethod of electric welding enables the weld 4 to ranged to form panels i2 at an upper elevation be built up to any desirable extent, whereby the united to panels l3 at a lower elevation. In such welding serves to form not, only a continuous construction, the web or portion l4 that con- 55 serves to secure the flanges together and tonects the upper and lower panels I! and I3 operates mainly to take care of shear stresses, which are of maximum intensity midway between such panels, and is strengthened by a backing or reinforcing member IS. The construction illustrated in Fig. 8 has the particular merit of locating the reinforced joint at such point of maxithe web of the Z-member after the manner shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

The construction illustrated in Fig. shows a carline I 9 of tubular form with the plain, spaced imperforate roof sheets welded, as at 20, thereto after the manner of Fig. 3. The particular merit of this construction is'that it permits the use of tubular carlines with the same facility as those of other shapes. I

It is, obvious from the foregoing description that the built-up welds add greatly to the strength of the joint and to the structure, that they dispense with the usual punching, Squaring and matching of the roof sheets, permit such wide tolerance'in width as to make it feasible to use sheets as they come from the mill and make a tighter,-better Joint and durable roof' with great economy of labor and niaterial.

Reference is hereby made to my copending applications Serial No. 659,492 filed March 3, 1933 ,and Serial No. 27,848 filed June 22, 1935, for subject matter shown but not claimed herein.

What I claim is:

L 1. A car roof comprising roof sheets arranged with a space between the side margins of adjacent sheets, a member in contact with the margins of the sheets on opposite sides of such space,

and. a continuous weld of added metal uniting the edges of adjacent sheets to each other and to said member, said added metal being in substantial excess of the amount required to make the weld and of sufllcient cross-sectional area and so located as to substantially increase the strength of the roof.

2. A car roof comprising plain roof sheets arranged with a space between the side margins of adjacent sheets, a member in contact with the margins ofthe sheets on opposite sides of such .space, and a built-up weld of high tensile metal I uniting the edges of adjacent sheets to each other flange beneath the upper and to said member, said high tensile metal being in substantial excess of the amount required to make the weld and of sumcient cross-sectional area and so located as to substantially increase the strength of the mo 3. A car roof comprising roof sheets arranged with a space between the side margins of adjacent sheets, and a continuous. weld of high tensile metal filling such space and uniting the edges oi adjacent sheets to each other, said high tensile metal being in substantial excess of the amount required to make the weld and of suflicient crosssectional area and so located as to substantially increase the strength of the roof.

4. A car roof comprising roof sheets arranged with a space between the side margins of adjacent sheets, a member in contact with the margins of the sheets on opposite sides of such space, and a continuous weld of high tensile metal filling such space and uniting the edges of adjacent sheets to each other and to said member said high tensile metal being added in substantial excess of the amount required to make the weld.

5. A car' roof comprising roof sheets arranged with a space between the side margins of adjacent sheets, a tubular member in contact with the margins of the sheets on opposite sides of such space, and a continuous well of added metal filling such space and uniting the edges of ad- J'acent sheets to each other and to said tubular member, said added metal being in substantial excess of the amount required'to make the weld and of suflicient cross-sectional area and so located as to substantially increase the strength of the roof. l

6. A car roof comprising roof sheets with their edges spaced apart, reinforcing members and continuous welds of high tensile steel uniting the edgesof adjacent sheets together and to the reinforcing members, said high tensile metal being in substantial excess of the amount required to vmake the weld and of sumcient cross-sectional area and so'located as to substantially increase the strength of the roof.

' CHARLES DAVID BONSALL. 

